Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Conference on Nuclear Receptors and Disease October 30 - November 3, 2012 Project Summary This proposal seeks support for the meeting on Nuclear Receptors and Disease to be held at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory October 30 - November 3, 2012. The meeting will assemble leaders in the field, together with junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, to discuss the latest advances in our understanding of the physiological and cellular function of nuclear receptors as well as their role in human diseases. Nuclear receptors are proteins that bind to DNA and regulate gene expression in response to small messenger molecules that bind to the receptors. By means of this messenger-receptor system important information about the environment and the metabolic condition of the cell is communicated to the genome thereby leading to changes in gene expression. These receptors play very important roles as regulators of cellular growth, differentiation and metabolism, and dysregulation of these receptors can lead to metabolic diseases and different types of cancer. The meeting will cover a broad spectrum of topics ranging from detailed molecular mechanism of action to clinical implications at the organismal level. Each session will be chaired by a leading scientist in the field. Oral presentations will be given by a group of distinguished invited speakers as well as speakers selected from submitted abstracts. Selected speakers will include graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty aiming for maximal inclusion of young investigators. Of special importance are the two poster sessions, where many participants can present their work in an atmosphere conducive to informal discussion. The meeting will be of moderate size and we expect about 250 people to attend, the vast majority of whom will be presenting a poster or talk. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Nuclear Receptors and Disease PROJECT NARRATIVE Nuclear receptors are important proteins in our cells which bind to small chemical messengers and interpret these individual signals by binding to DNA and regulating the expression of genetic information in specific ways. These proteins control the growth, metabolism and fate of cells, and malfunction or dysregulation of these receptors can lead to metabolic diseases (e.g. obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) and to different types of cancer (e.g. breast and prostate cancer). Understanding the basic activity of nuclear receptors and how these may become disrupted is of great importance for our ability to understand and treat these diseases. To provide a venue for interaction between basic and clinical researchers working on different aspects of nuclear receptors, we propose to hold a meeting entitled Nuclear Receptors and Disease at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in November 2012.